


Dear, Sweet, Unbiased Miriel

by Seagoatink, winters_prince



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Chronic Pain, F/M, Tactician Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-08
Packaged: 2018-12-23 18:56:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11995938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seagoatink/pseuds/Seagoatink, https://archiveofourown.org/users/winters_prince/pseuds/winters_prince
Summary: Udon ran straight for the mages’ quarter knowing she would find Miriel there. Dear, sweet, unbiased Miriel. A true scientist and voice of reason.She slammed her hands down on the table, immediately gaining Miriel’s undivided attention. “Does everyone think I play matchmaker on the battlefield?”





	1. Ailment

**Author's Note:**

> Winters_prince, not only collabed this with me, but also Beta'd it! Special thanks :D
> 
> Also, hey, My Unit | Robin's name is Udon in this fic. Sounds strange, but I always name my player characters after foods. Fire Emblem characters of mine are all named after noodles.

The past few days lacked travel and excitement in the form of fights. No one in camp minded the empty days, in fact Udon welcomed it, especially when it overlapped the rainy clouds outside. Walking through the muck took more effort than marching, or even practicing her swordsmanship. 

Today did not differ from her usual nightly routine, outside of adding pages to a few of her Tomes, Elwind was among the list thanks to Ricken’s recent request. Udon was too busy with her work to notice Miriel enter the tent and sit down at the candlelit table with her. 

“Trying a new spell set?” Miriel mused. She opened her own Tome, nearly out of paper, and placed it on the table.

Udon jumped from her seat, startled from her focus. “Oh uh,” she hesitated. It took her a moment to process Miriel’s question. “This is for Ricken, actually,” she admitted. Her eyes left Miriel and fell to the Tome before her. The spell she had worked so hard on replicating onto the paper had been smeared by her hand when Miriel startled her. 

She ripped the page out with a sigh and used the candle’s flame to set it on fire. Udon let it fall to the dirt floor to turn to ash without the risk of setting anything else aflame.

“I thought you would be formulating new strategies with Virion after your last conversation with him,” Miriel said.

The two women spoke frequently, though Miriel tended to go on a tangent and Udon often became distracted by just about anything. They had a special connection, especially on the battlefield. But when days like this one came about, they would sit down and work in content silence together. 

Udon smiled at the thought. “No,” she sighed, “I’ve been doing that the past few days. Virion is nice in short bursts, I’ll admit, but I need a break from tactical studies.” 

Miriel nodded, then stood from her chair to retrieve a blank Tome from one of the many storage crates that littered the tent. She returned to the table and set the dust covered book down on the table with a muffled thud. “I must admit, I’m not overly fond of Wind based Tomes,” Miriel said. She adjusted her glasses before opening the book to the first page. “But it has it’s uses.”

Together they sat in a familiar and welcome silence, writing spells into their Tomes. Udon found peace in the repetitive, albeit intricate process. She could not speak for Miriel, but she hoped the other woman found comfort in their time spent together. 

After a good hour passed hunched over working on spells, Udon straightened her posture and huffed out a sigh. Her bones ached in protest of her poor posture. She looked at Miriel, who was still working diligently on her Tome. Part of her envied her friend’s ability to focus completely. She reminded herself of the pouch incident and shook her head. 

Udon stood from her chair to stretch. Miriel’s Tome was closer to finished than her own. She placed some of the blame on the unfamiliar symbols needed for Wind based magic. Still, she found she was disappointed in herself for being unable to work as hard or as skillfully as her counterpart. A few of her joints popped as she bent at the waist to touch her toes or rolled her shoulders.

This drew Miriel’s attention. “How do you go on like that?” The redhead asked, the color of her hair only deepened by the candle light. “It’s no wonder you have trouble working for hours with all that tension,” she added softly, her eyes sneaking a glance at the Tome Udon had been working on.

Udon rose an eyebrow to the sky in silent question of Miriel’s statement. “I-” she stopped herself, not sure what she wanted to say. “Isn’t everyone like this?” She finally wondered. 

“No,” Miriel responded with certainty. “No, they’re not.”

Udon sighed and pulled her cloak from the back of her chair. She swung it over her shoulders then slipped her arms through as she always did. “I’m going to go check on the weapons,” Udon said, effectively excusing herself from the conversation.

Before leaving, she made sure the parchments between freshly-inked papers were secured and closed the Tome. Then she made her exit from the tent and into the misting rain outside.

If she were marching, she would hate the weather. But being honest with herself, the cool mist against her skin felt refreshing. Udon loved how everything felt in the rain, and a rain as light as it was now was nice. The only thing she did not enjoy was how the humidity affected her joints, causing them to ache in protest to every moment she made. 

Perhaps Miriel was right that the pain was abnormal. Surely Virion or Lissa would have complained about the pain rather than how their boots hurt their feet or that their legs were tired. Udon sighed and looked back at the tent where Miriel was still working on her Tome. She felt like she should apologize, though she was not quite certain what she would apologize for.

The weapons tent was at the far end of camp, away from the more central tents like the one Udon left only moments ago. She took brisk strides, knowing that her bones would ache and creak the longer she was out in the light rain. Once she finally entered the tent near the training grounds, she saw Chrom speaking to Lissa behind one of the many storage crates.

Udon hastily straightened her posture. “Should I come around later?” She questioned, not wanting to invade the royals’ privacy.

The two looked up, quickly torn from their conversation by their Tactician.

“Udon,” Chrom said. He stole a glance back to Lissa, then returned his attention to Udon. “I suppose one of us would tell you sooner or later.” He sighed, resolving to fill Udon in on the matter. 

Lissa stepped forward, passing her brother and empty crates as she did so. “I knew about the enemy forces in the last battle because I snuck ahead. Chrom caught me-”

“This time,” Chrom said sternly, his eyes flicking from Udon to his sister then back to Udon.

“I wanted to do my part and help out!” Lissa argued, stamping her foot on the ground as she shouted in Udon’s direction. 

Udon sighed softly. Still she nodded in understanding. Of course the young princess wanted to be helpful around camp. She wanted to aid her friends on the battlefield. She wanted to be great like her siblings. Lissa was spritely, though stubborn, if she wanted to do something nothing would stop her.

Before any idea bubbled up in Udon’s head, Lissa spoke up again. “What can I do to be a better princess?” She asked, then looked back to Chrom, who only nodded in approval.

At first, Udon was surprised, and her blank face showed it. But as she processed Lissa’s question, she cracked a grin and giggled. “Well, you’re already doing it,” she admitted with a smile. 

Chrom moved from his spot behind the crates. “I’ll leave you two to your fun,” he said. “And Udon, I’ll see you later to update battle formations, right?” Chrom asked, as he neared the entryway to the tent, passing both women.

Udon nodded. “Yes, of course!”

Lissa was about to follow him when Udon caught her arm. “Lissa, putting you out there, on the battlefield… Without a weapon, well it causes me great distress,” the tactician admitted softly.

“I don’t much care for it either,” Lissa admitted, just as quietly. She shifted on her feet out of nervousness. “Don’t get me wrong, I know Chrom and Frederick and even you are looking out for me, but…”

“What if you get caught out with no one to fight for you?” Udon finished for Lissa, knowing the words were difficult to force. 

When the blonde nodded in the affirmative, her pigtails and headpiece bounced with her. 

Udon worried at her lip. “Do you mind staying with me for a bit, maybe help examine the weapons while I think this over?” She asked, doing her best to focus on the matter at hand.

Lissa shook her head. “Not at all. Now that Chrom’s caught me, well, I don’t have any plans for the rest of the day,” she admitted, offering a weak smile. She said she wanted to help, so she could not deny Udon’s request. Battle was not new to her either, so she knew what to look for in weapons as well.

As they finished up checking on weapons and a few sets of misplaced armor that should have been left in the next tent, Frederick entered the weapons tent. “Milady, Udon,” he said, addressing both of the women before returning his training weapon to the rack.

He lifted the tent flap to leave as Udon spoke up, “Tell Chrom Lissa will be attending battle plans as well.”

His breath hitched. Still, he turned to nod to Udon, silently telling her he would inform Chrom of her decision. Then he left the tent, likely to attend to his other daily activities. Frederick was clearly hesitant to allow Lissa in on battle plans ahead of time, but there was not much he could do in disagreement. He was not the Tactician that Udon was, nor could he claim to know what she was thinking.

The flap of the tent fell back into place. Udon let out a breath she did not know she was holding in. “He’s so intimidating,” she whispered to herself as her shoulders dropped.

“You really want me to join your meeting tonight?” Lissa questioned from behind her. 

Udon whipped around, her robe fanned out behind her as she did so. “Why wouldn’t I? I think it’s important to address a few concerns,” she replied, somewhat confused as to why Lissa was surprised. Though, she had to admit, Lissa being surprised was much less scary than Frederick’s disapproval.

The younger of the two hugged Udon tightly with an incredible grin plastered across her face. “You’re the best!” She squealed with delight.

Udon, being only a hair shorter than Lissa winced and pressed her hand to the side of her head. “That was my ear,” she whined.

“Sorry!” Lissa immediately replied, releasing the tactician from her tight embrace. “I’m used to everyone being taller than me…”

“It’s alright, thanks for helping me inspect the weapons, Lissa,” Udon said, easing the young woman’s concerns. “This probably was not what you were hoping for when you joined the Shepards,” she added as the left the weapons tent and walked into the rain.

“No one asks for a war, Udon,” Lissa replied, sure to keep her voice low so no one else could hear her as they passed by. “But I do appreciate you including me. Everyone else treats me like I’m so fragile and delicate.”

The two walked through camp together at a casual pace, despite the drizzle. Even with the clouds in the sky, covering up the sun, they could easily see 50 feet in front of them before fog clouded a few details. 

“I wanted to say thank you, for not treating me like I’m made of glass just because I’m a princess,” admitted Lissa as they rounded the last tent on the edge of camp.

Udon shrugged. “You’re welcome,” she said, though she felt Lissa did not even need to say thanks for the most basic respect. “You’re not just a princess, you know. You’re an incredible asset, and you work fast in a fight. I look up to you too, I’m sure everyone else in camp would say so.”

She found Lissa wrapped tightly around her once more. 

“Hey now, I’m not sure you’ll be grateful of me for long,” Udon protested, doing her best to peel Lissa from herself. It was hard, thanks to the princess’ death grip. “Speaking of which, we should head to meet Chrom and Frederick.”

The two arrived in the most central tent a little later than the scheduled time, but Chrom did not seem to mind. Frederick on the other hand, was visibly displeased. Udon figured it would take a long while to get on his good side, especially because of his original displeasure in taking her along.

Lissa followed Udon in, not in her element, she was afraid to press ahead and make her presence known. The tactician was more than accommodating to the fact, and motioned Lissa to stand beside Chrom, where she figured the younger would be more comfortable. Then Udon sat down at the table and carefully stretched her legs under her.

The other three followed suit and sat down as well, though they all huddled over the map on the table. Udon adjusted herself on her chair and rested against the back of the chair. Everyone else backed away from the map and turned their attention to her. 

“Firstly, we’re going to need more staves soon, Lissa’s is especially riddled,” announced Udon. 

It was true. Lissa had used her staff even more than Maribelle, mostly because she had been in battle more often than her horse-riding counterpart. The thing was riddled with blackened holes, like termites to wood, showing the healing magic in it was almost gone. 

“That can be remedied when we reach the next town,” Frederick responded with certainty. He was still obviously uncomfortable with Lissa at their war table overlooking battle plans with them. Udon knew he was also still suspicious of her.

Having seen fallen Plegia raiders, she now understood why. Some nights, when she could not sleep, she could see her coat with Grima’s eyes staring her down.

But Chrom had a good feeling about her and Lissa paid no mind, much like her brother, to Frederick’s suspicions. She knew now that she could not blame him for his skepticism, but she was grateful the royals he watched over did not mind.

Udon twiddle her thumbs over her stomach, nervously preparing herself for her next announcement. “I feel it would be best for Lissa to learn a weapon. Preferably an ax,” she said, doing her best to pace her words evenly as if it were any other suggestion or command she delivered in the past. “I want Frederick to train her, though I won't have her fighting in any battles with it until we're all confident in her skills,” added Udon as she straightened her posture from a heavy slouch.

Chrom nodded in complete understanding and agreement. It was hard to tell if he had informed Frederick of his earlier conversation with the two women. His eyes held certainty, telling Udon he would back her if the other two felt the need to protest her decision.

Udon looked to Lissa first, but she only averted her gaze. 

Frederick’s eyes were trained on the siblings. If neither of them disagreed, then he was set on putting Udon’s plan into motion.

“When do we start?” He asked suddenly.

His complete willingness to go along with Udon’s idea surprised her, but she accepted it. “However quickly you can chalk up a training regimen,” Udon replied. She swallowed a nervous lump in her throat. “Though I would like to give it a once over before you initiate it,” she added, knowing Frederick could easily overwhelm Lissa with work if he was not careful. Plus she needed to gauge the princess’ ability to perform on the battlefield.

“I will find you with a regimen later today,” he promised.

Udon sighed with relief. That was one thing out of the way, and considering it involved the terrifying man, Frederick, she marked it a big accomplishment. 

She noticed Lissa making fists with her hands, and mentally kicked herself. “I should have told you earlier, Lissa, but I felt the need to address other concerns…”

Lissa jerked up to look Udon in the eyes. “I'm not upset with you!” She swore with all her heart placed in the words. “I'm just glad… And maybe a little surprised,” Lissa responded. “But that's how these meetings go, yeah? You tell everyone at once, so no rumors start popping up.”

Udon nodded. She could feel weight lift from her shoulders. She was so thankful that Lissa understood completely, without even a need for explanation. “Thank you, Lissa, for understanding.”

Lissa mostly watched as they discussed plans for future battles and a slight change in strategy. Udon expected as much, but she also hoped the princess would involve herself with their battle tactics even after this one meeting.

She left the tent and could immediately smell cooking that would soon be ready. So Udon traveled to the next tent over where she had been only a few hours ago.

Miriel still had her nose in her Tome, drawing out spells and sigils in a way Udon only expected from her. “Miriel,” she said as she raised the tent flap with her forearm.

It was not her voice that cut the woman from her work, but the breeze Udon was letting through the tent. It lifted a few leafs of paper from under her hand, causing Miriel to look up. “Oh, Udon,” she said, “I didn’t expect to see you back so soon. How was your walk?”

Udon sighed and entered the tent. “I actually came to let you know food should be done soon, I think Stahl was up for cooking duties today,” she informed the other woman. She was not at all surprised that Miriel had lost track of time. But she sat down in her usual chair and waited for Miriel to finish her page and clear up her workspace.

Miriel returned to her work, if only to finish the spell she was working on. Then she placed a parchment between the papers so the fresh ink would not smudge or transfer. By the end of the day, the Tome would be ready to charge with magic. It was a long and drawn out practice that almost every mage was familiar with.

“Perhaps we could discuss your ailment in the mess tent?” Miriel suggested as she stood from her day's worth of handiwork.

Udon followed suit. Together they left the unofficial mages’ tent for the mess and waited with the few others who had also arrived early.

“I'm not certain there is anything to discuss,” said Udon. She nervously picked nonexistent dirt from her nails.

Miriel narrowed her eyes from behind her glasses and shook her head. “You must be in a considerable amount of pain,” she stated plainly. “And to engage in combat like that is plenty cause for concern.”

“What's this about concern, dear?” Maribelle asked as she poked her head into the tent. She was not often early to meals, but given the rain she lacked a large to do list.

“I- I don't think it's anything to be concerned about. I'm just always in pain that's all!” Udon stammered. She defensively threw her arms about in front of her, though neither of the women before her were attacking her. They were coming at her with concern, and for good reason.

Maribelle’s lips fell into a careful pout. “That simply won't do. You should have come to someone sooner,” she chided, easily falling into agreement with Miriel.

More people began pouring into the tent. The last thing Udon wanted was for everyone to worry over her. The fact that Maribelle overheard Miriel’s concern was bad enough. She did not want to be the talk of the camp, especially if it brought on worried glances.

Not to mention if anyone thought she was in less than perfect shape, they may begin to hide things from her. Udon thought of how uncomfortable Frederick was with Lissa in their meeting earlier. If any of their friends began to see her in that light, Udon likely would not make for such a great tactician for very long.

It seemed as though Maribelle read her mind. “I’ll discuss this with Udon later in my tent, no need to worry yourself on the matter any further, Miriel,” she promised.Udon yawned widely in her bed. It was her turn to make the nightly patrols. Rarely had something worth mentioning happened, and it had not even been on her watch.

She saw the faint candle light cross through the women's tent. Behind it was a very poorly lit Sully to alert her of the shift change. “I'm surprised to see your eyes are open,” she chuckled and sat down at the foot of Udon’s bed, still holding the candle in her hand. “You've never been awake for a morning shift.”

The tactician shrugged. “It's easier when I know I’ll have some time to myself,” she admitted as she slipped into her boots. Quickly, she laced up the tops and tied the laces into knots before buckling it into place to secure the tops of her boots just below her knees. “Get some rest,” Udon instructed.

Then she took the candle from Sully and traded her bed for the night patrol.

When her shift ended, Udon woke everyone in the men's tent so Vaike could start his patrol without the risk of seeing any of them in their small clothes… Or less. Potentially. Then she removed her few pieces of armor.

She admitted to herself she was stalling her visit to Maribelle’s tent. She loathed to be inspected from head to toe for any minor issue, especially by someone like Maribelle.

Udon had hoped that pairing her up with Vaike during battles would help take the edge off of her snobby personality, but it hardly seemed to work. No doubt the aristocrat would nag her on her posture, her casual manner of speaking, anything she viewed as wrong or lowly.

Her feet carried her automatically to the tent nevertheless. She sighed and straightened her posture. “Maribelle!” She called out.

“Come in, dear!” she heard from inside.

Udon did as she was told and secured the tent flap behind herself. When she turned around to face Maribelle, she noticed the other woman was fetching her staff.

Maribelle stood a few paces away, the wood of her staff glowing as she channeled it’s innate magic. She focused the glow of the staff to it’s point, making it appear more like a scepter than anything. Despite the distance, she bombarded Udon with questions about her health as she scanned sections of Udon’s body, individually, checking for insight on Udon’s plight. Maribelle questioned if and when she felt pain and under which unusual or mundane circumstances she felt spikes. “Perhaps this is from a previous injury,” she speculated, much in the way Udon heard Miriel draw her conclusions. “Or from that slouch of yours.”

Maribelle relented after running over the whole of Udon’s person, setting her staff back in it’s proper rack. Her eyes passed over Udon’s outfit as she turned back around. “I understand the corset is not part of typical fashion in Plegia-” Maribelle fussed at the translucent fabric of Udon’s tunic with distaste “-they certainly don't care for modestly, whatever class you're from.” She turned away from her patient with a sigh. “I don't quite know what the cause of your pain is, so there is no remedy I can suggest to you. Being at war, any suggestion I make could hardly be justified.”

Maribelle sat down on her bed. Her tent like all the others, had few furnishings, which left her bed as the only place for her to sit, gently wiping her forehead and smiling wearily.

“Regardless of your findings, I'm grateful you were willing to try,” Udon said. She offered the defeated Maribelle a kind smile and her thanks.

“You're quite welcome, Udon,” she replied, her eyes meeting the other woman's with another smile. “After all, if you're not going to look out for yourself, someone ought to.”


	2. Matchmaker

Udon inspected the horses and pegasi after battle. None of them were hurt, but Ricken had been injured in battle. Maribelle left her horse in the others’ care to tend to Ricken’s wounds.

She thought back to hoisting the baby-faced young man to Sully, who grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him into her lap. Maribelle rushed to meet Sully on her own horse to retrieve the mage.

It was all because Udon was not strong enough to fell their enemy in one hit. He would be fine thanks to Maribelle, but that did not excuse the tactician of her fault.

Sumia finished removing the armor from her pegasus and approached Udon. “I'll remove her armor if you pay attention and help store it,” she offered with a kind and gentle smile. “Maribelle told me she was surprised how little you know about horses, let alone pegasi,” she added with a chuckle as she took the reigns from Udon.

The shorter woman nodded quickly. She was still shaky from battle. Udon felt guilty for Ricken’s injury, but Maribelle would have her skin if she skirted her duties. So the tactician did her best to swallow her worries and helped Sumia to the best of her ability.

When all was said and done, the barn was empty save for Udon and the mounts. Unable to think clearly, she made her way to sit amongst the saddles, blankets, and gear. She rested her head in her hands and thought over the scenario for the umpteenth time since she entered the barn. 

“Udon?” A familiar voice said. It was Stahl and he had his horse by the reigns and lead her through the threshold. “I'll admit, I wasn't expecting to run into you till dinner time.”

She looked up, due to her position on one of the low benches, she had to tilt her head more than normal. It did not help that he was so much taller than her. “Uh, yeah,” she replied. Udon was unsure of what else there was to say.

He disappeared further into the barn to tend to his mount like any good cavalier would. What Stahl did not expect was to find Udon had not moved from the bench, which was truly just a stepping stool.

“Ricken’s hardly hurt from what Sully told me, if that helps any,” offered Stahl. He had crouched down in front of the tactician so she would not have to crane her neck to look at him.

“I feel like I failed to help him get any better,” admitted Udon with a sigh. “No one plans to fight in a war, but gods…”

Stahl stood, but extended his hand to Udon. “Mind if we walk and talk? I have to stretch my legs after riding so long,” he chuckled.

Udon took his hand and he pulled her to her feet with incredible ease. In fact, she felt as though she sprung into the air, if only slightly. “I thought you had already taken care of your horse,” she said as they walked through the barn.

“I wanted to make sure she wasn't injured so we took to a trail,” Stahl explained. 

Suddenly Udon looked up at Stahl again. He had a happy-go-lucky aura about him. She found it comforting and not too dissimilar from Lissa’s spritely nature. “So Ricken really is alright?” Udon asked.

When Stahl looked down at her to answer, her eyes quickly darted away. She kicked the dirt across the floor, swinging her legs haphazardly as she did so. It was a dead giveaway that she was nervous.

“He’ll be fine,” the man assured her as he placed an arm around her and a hand on her shoulder. “But he did get kicked in the face by the boot of a rider. You'll probably have to ask Maribelle about his recovery.”

Udon did her best not to lean into Stahl’s side, and she really wanted to.

He was right about talking to Maribelle at least. Anything else he said was likely idle gossip from the march back to camp. “I would rather this not happen again… Sully’s supports have rarely been injured in battle, I suppose I could set the two of them together. At least until he can handle his own,” Udon thought aloud. Her hand rested at her chin as she visualized a battle in her head. “I suppose that will do.”

Stahl tugged at her cloak. They reached the back of the barn and the large door that was rarely used. He was trying to get her to turn around with him, but she was too distracted with her thoughts.

“Here I thought Chrom and Frederick decided who worked best with whom,” he laughed and rubbed the back of his neck with the hand that was not on Udon’s shoulder.

She craned her neck to stare up at him. “Oh?”

“I suppose they told you all about it,” he said sheepishly. His cheeks began to turn pink.

“I'm not sure what you're referring to,” Udon said flatly. Her head tilted to the side. He piqued her interest with all of his vague speech. 

Stahl shrugged his shoulders. “Just about everyone's been going to them with requests,” he finally explained as plainly as possible. “Everyone's so busy with war after all. Look at Frederick and Lissa getting engaged after they've spent so many battles fighting side by side.”

Udon blinked in confusion. Then it finally hit her. “My goal isn't to play matchmaker!”

The cavalier looked down to see tears in Udon’s eyes. “Hey, Udon!” He quickly bent at the knees to look her in the eyes. “I didn't mean it like that! I didn't mean to upset you!” the words hastily spewed from his mouth. He hardly had time to register what she was upset about.

He implied that Ricken was hurt in their last fight, because Udon was too busy ogling the young mage.

She turned away, not wanting to hear anything else he had to say. No matter how quickly she wiped her face it stayed wet. So she fled from the barn, hoping Stahl would not try to follow her.

Udon ran straight for the mages’ quarter knowing she would find Miriel there. Dear, sweet, unbiased Miriel. A true scientist and voice of reason.

She slammed her hands down on the table, immediately gaining Miriel’s undivided attention. “Does everyone think I play matchmaker on the battlefield?” She demanded with a huff. Her face was red and wet with tears that fell off her chin. She was huffing, if only slightly, because of her quick escape from the barn. When she raised her chin to face Miriel, she found Gaius, too, was standing before her.

His jaw hung slack.

“While I know that holds zero truth, camp gossip begs to differ,” she replied. “At least, I know matchmaking is not your sole intent.”

“Who blabbed that little wife's tale to you?” Gaius asked in turn.

Udon sighed and shook her head. “Don't worry-”

“Udon! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you,” Stahl said as he gripped the stone of the entryway.

Gaius tsked and shook his head in dismay. “I should've figured it was you,” he grumbled. “Now good ol’ Chrom’s gonna gripe since you got his tactician in a tissy.”

Said tactician spun around on her heel to glare at the red headed assassin. “I'm right here!” she protested. More than anything, Udon found she wanted to punch something or maybe shoot a lightning bolt through a fancy vase. “Why hasn't anyone told me?” She demanded an answer from no one in particular.

Stahl opened his mouth to speak, but Gaius shook his head, telling him to zip his lips.

Instead, Miriel spoke up, “No one wanted to elicit the exact response you are producing right now.”

“Just about everyone's convinced Chrom picks who gets paired up too,” Gaius threw in. It seemed he was close enough to Miriel that she told him a few details about Udon here and there. Or Chrom told him, given how often they chatted each other up.

Udon sighed and plopped into one of the beautifully upholstered chairs. She took a moment to steel herself. Then, once she finally calmed herself, the woman stood from her chair. “Thank you, Miriel,” she said in a warm tone. “Sorry for interrupting your conversation.”

With that, she turned and gathered Stahl from the threshold.

“I'm sorry, I got ahead of myself,” she finally said after they had walked nearly half of Maribelle’s estate.

Stahl placed a hand on her shoulder again, this time drawing her to his side. “It's been a very busy day for you,” he replied, easily excusing her erratic behavior.

“So…” She started, but trailed off before coming to a point. Udon was kicking up dirt again.

“Is something wrong?” Stahl wondered, concern drawing down his brows.

Udon stopped. They were following one of the many walkways along the property, surrounded by trees. There was finally plenty of privacy for her to ask anything she wanted to. “Are you going to request a support?”

“I, uh… Well,” Stahl stammered.

Udon giggled. “I can always ask Chrom or Frederick if you're too shy,” she teased.

“You.”

Her finger was halfway to jabbing Stahl in the gut for answers when he spoke. “Huh?” Asked Udon. She immediately stopped with her childish teasing.

“You. I want to get to know you better,” he said. “I mean, we already know each other pretty well. And I know you're always at my back when we support each other in a fight-”

“Of course!” Udon exclaimed in delight. She flung her arms around Stahl, hugging him tightly.

“Really?”

The tactician did not even hesitate as she looked up at him. Her arms still holding him with strength Stahl did not even know she had. “I love fighting with you by my side,” Udon admitted before burying her face in his chest again.

Stahl blushed furiously. “It's not just fighting I want to do with you,” he admitted. 

Udon looked up at him her hold slowly slipped away, much to Stahl’s displeasure. His heart plummeted to his stomach as he expected her to push him away and reject him.

“I gathered that much,” chuckled Udon as she went to hold his hands. “But let's take this one step at a time before we start asking Chrom for a wedding ceremony.”

Stahl’s heart returned to its rightful place in his chest. A grin bloomed across his face. He nodded in agreement. “Would you like to start doing chores together? I know you're collecting firewood later.”

“And check for ticks afterwards, I'd assume?” Udon giggled in response.

He held his hands up in a quick mock surrender. “I promise not to get too frisky!”

“I don't!” Laughed the tactician.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I already have chapter two written and beta'd, though I'm not sure when I'll post it.
> 
> In the meantime, I am but a humble bard, singing the songs of my OCs and would LOVE to talk about them!
> 
> Tumblr: mergoat.tumblr.com  
> Art Tumblr: skeletalmergoat.tumblr.com  
> Twitter: twitter.com/skeletalmergoat


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